National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
ActiveArts, Culture & Humanities
About National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
NASAA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that strengthens state and jurisdictional arts agencies by providing research, advocacy, professional development, and convening services so communities across the United States receive the cultural, economic, educational, health, and civic benefits of the arts.
Focus Areas
public funding for the artscreative agingcreative economyarts educationcommunity cohesion and well-beingcross-sector collaborationgrant making and capacity buildingresearch and evaluation
Who They Fund
older adults / seniorsstate agencies and arts councilscommunity arts organizations serving older adults
Funding Style
About National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
A defining feature of National Assembly of State Arts Agencies Inc is its sustained creative aging grantmaking to state and jurisdictional arts agencies. In 2024, the organization awarded $95,000 grants to agencies including the Tennessee Arts Commission, Indiana Arts Commission, New York State Council on the Arts, Delaware Division of the Arts, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Wyoming Arts Council, Vermont Arts Council, and Ohio Arts Council for work to advance creative aging efforts at the state level. That pattern reflects a funder that works through public arts infrastructure rather than individual artists, using grants to strengthen agency capacity and expand programming for older adults. The organization’s recent awards also show a clear emphasis on state-level systems building. Its active grant programs include Leveraging State Investments in Creative Aging and Creative Aging, Creative Futures Grants, both designed to help state arts agencies integrate and expand creative aging work. Earlier awards in the same area include support to the Nevada Arts Council, South Dakota Arts Council, Utah Division of Arts & Museums, Maine Arts Commission, Oklahoma Arts Council, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council, Kentucky Arts Council, and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Across these grants, the emphasis is on agency-led creative aging work that combines arts participation, learning, and social engagement for older adults.
What National Assembly of State Arts Agencies Funds
Creative aging is the clearest throughline in the recent grant record. The organization gave $95,000 to the Tennessee Arts Commission to advance creative aging efforts at the state level, and it made the same award to the Indiana Arts Commission and the New York State Council on the Arts for the same purpose. That points to a consistent approach: supporting state arts agencies as the delivery channel for older-adult arts work. The grant programs reinforce that pattern. Leveraging State Investments in Creative Aging is designed to strengthen state arts agencies’ capacity to integrate and expand creative aging work, with grants ranging from $20,000 to $60,000. Creative Aging, Creative Futures Grants, offered in partnership with E.A. Michelson Philanthropy, supports state and jurisdictional arts agencies developing and expanding programs that promote creativity, learning, well-being, and social engagement for older adults. The portfolio also includes leadership recognition through NASAA Leadership Awards, which honor exemplary leadership and best practices among state arts agencies and regional arts organizations.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$855K
Total Assets
$3.3M
Total Revenue
$4.4M
Total Expenses
$3.7M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $12K and $95K, with a median of $12K.
25th Percentile
$12K
Median
$12K
75th Percentile
$95K
Geographic Reach
National19 states funded
About 0% of grants go to recipients in VT.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
PAMELA A BREAUX
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